2022 Toyota Corolla Cross Le on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota HQ goes solar, CARB fights methane

Opel denies allegations about illegal emissions software as the German transport ministry begins its review. Opel has turned documents over to German authorities, and promises to hold a "constructive dialogue" while answering any lingering questions, says the automaker. Opel says that "the allegations reflect a wrong understanding of how diesel engines work." As German magazine Der Spiegel renewed questions about a cheat device similar to those used by Volkswagen, Opel reiterates, "We do not have any software that recognizes whether a vehicle is undergoing an exhaust emissions test." Read more at Automotive News Europe. South Korean President Park Geun-hye suggests that Seoul and Paris work together on the promotion of fuel cell technology. French industrial gases company Air Liquide manufactures liquid hydrogen, while Korean automaker Hyundai has already deployed its Tucson Fuel Cell crossover in select markets around the world. The two companies have signed a deal to cooperate on hydrogen technology. President Park visited an Air Liquide research center during a trip to Europe, where she said that a partnership between Hyundai and Air Liquide can help their countries stay ahead in the fuel cell vehicle market. Read more from Green Car Congress. CARB is proposing new rules for oil and gas facilities that would reduce methane emissions by more than 50 percent. The system, treatment, operation, and device standards would apply to onshore and offshore oil and gas production, storage, processing, and transmission facilities, covering procedures for leak detection and repair, equipment replacement, record keeping, and data reporting. "Methane emissions from the oil and gas industry contribute to California's [greenhouse gas] emissions and cost-effective reduction opportunities already exist and are available for use in the sector," CARB says. "In addition, reducing methane emissions from this sector will help slow the rate of climate change in the near-term and have an immediate beneficial impact on climate change." A hearing is scheduled for July 21 to discuss the proposal. Read more from SNL. Toyota's new Plano, Texas campus will get 25 percent of its energy from the sun. As Toyota plans to move into its new North American headquarters next year, it is building a 7.75-megawatt solar system to provide renewable energy for its operations. The solar arrays will be built atop three parking structures by the end of 2017.

Nearly 700,000 Toyotas and Lexuses named in fuel pump recall

In an announcement posted to its corporate press room, Toyota made known a voluntary safety recall on select 2018 and 2019 Toyota and Lexus models. The recall includes roughly 696,000 vehicles and deals with a fuel pump that might stop working. An internal investigation into the issue is under way.  Affected rides include the Toyota 4Runner, Camry, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma, Avalon, Corolla, and Tundra, as well as the Lexus LS 500, LC 500, RC 350, RC 300, GS 350, IS 300, ES 350, LX 570, GX 460, RX 350 NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300. The Avalon, Corolla, NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300 are restricted to 2019 model years, while the others are 2018 and 2019 model years. The potential danger in this issue is pretty obvious. Should the fuel pump stop, the vehicles could sputter, stall, and come to a stop, likely without the ability to restart the cars. Toyota notes warning lights and messages would display should this occur, but by then, it'd be too late. Although Toyota made the announcement this week, the investigation is not yet complete, and therefore, a fix has not yet been specified. The resolution, when determined, will come free of charge to affected customers. Toyota plans to send out notifications for affected vehicles in mid-March. 

Audi investing $30.3 billion through 2018 for product expansion

How does Audi plan to reach two million units in annual sales and pay for the 11 new models it's adding to its lineup - an expansion that may include models named SQ2, Q9 and F-Tron? By increasing its investment to 22 billion euros ($30.3 billion US) between now and 2018. That figure represents an increase of about 500 million euros over the previously planned outlay, according to a report by Automotive News, and that could be due to Audi wishing to goad the momentum that pushed it to 1.5 million annual sales two years ahead of schedule.
It's also about staving off the challenges from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now that BMW has been able to turn some of its attention away from its "i" series of Megacity cars, it will reportedly spend more than planned in 2014 as it continues the rollout of ten all-new vehicles and 15 new-generation vehicles through the end of next year. Mercedes, having been dropped to third in the sales race, is preparing to add 13 new cars over the next six years.
Audi's money is going into technology, into product like the next-generation TT and the Q1 and production expansions and upgrades all over the world. The expenditure represents just under a fourth of Volkswagen's 84.2 billion-euro ($115.7 US) outlay devoted to taking the number-one global automaker title away from General Motors and Toyota by 2018.